Queeroes: A Behind the Scenes Look at Creating a Webcomic

It's probably the most insane venture I've ever tried. I set up a web site for my planned webcomic Queeroes before I had all the characters, plots, and stories figured out. In fact, I started with one character picture and three pages worth of rough draft script.

But, there is a method to my madness.

I've started an interactive blog for the webcomic that will chronicle the development of the series and give fans a chance to give their input into the type of webcomic they'd like to read. It's only a week old so far, but it's been fun to watch the site grow and to get comments on my thought processes.

In my official press release with Prism Comics, I announced the site by saying: "The idea for Queeroes came to me because I just finished watching the first season of Heroes this week and I love the idea of 'normal' people with superpowers," says Smith. "I started thinking about what if these people with special abilities were all gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered? How would things be different for them? What unique challenges would they face? More importantly, is there a unique reason why only members of the LGBT community would develop special powers? Is there something about them that makes them different? Well, that certainly brings up an interesting question about gays and the nature vs. nurture debate doesn't it?"

I also added, "Fans will get a chance to contribute to the creation of the series using the built in commenting feature, allowing readers to give their input on every post. Those comments will contribute a lot to the plot of the series. The site will also feature a "Guest Artist" program that will allow other artists to contribute their vision to the world of Queeroes."

So far, I have to say that it's working out well. I've seen an increase in site visitors nearly every day since the site launched. And, now that the official press release is out there, I'm expecting traffic to REALLY pick up over the next few days. All this, and I don't even have a comic book to show for it yet!

But, that's not to say that I'm cheating comic book fans. Queeroes is currently in development, but it will launch as a full webcomic early next year and will be updated at least twice a week. As I'm writing and illustrating the comic book though, I'm accomplishing two important goals. One is that I'm generating interest among my intended fan base, so that when the webcomic launches it will already have a built in readership. Two, I'm opening up the creation of the series to input from fans and I'm sure it will benefit from their suggestions. Plus, I've also posted some really cool behind the scenes stuff like a script excerpt, character designs, teasers and a reprint of a 4 page story published last year that ties in to the history of Queeroes in a very big way. So, the content I'm posting is more than just fluff. In fact, I like to think of the blog as a daily serving of Hors D'oeuvres before the main course.

So, my point is that if you have webcomic you're planning, don't wait around for the perfect timing and circumstances. You don't need to always have 3 months worth of pages done before you post your first one. Admittedly, you shouldn't jump in totally unprepared, but with a little creativity you can get started earlier than you think and give yourself a leg up on all the other webcomics you're competing for readers with.